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This research seeks to gain a detailed understanding of how researchers come across information serendipitously, grounded in real‐world examples. This research was undertaken to enrich the theoretical understanding of this slippery phenomenon.

Semi‐structured critical incident interviews were conducted with 28 interdisciplinary researchers. Interviewees were asked to discuss memorable examples of coming across information serendipitously from their research or everyday life. The data collection and analysis process followed many of the core principles of grounded theory methodology.

The examples provided were varied, but shared common elements (they involved a mix of unexpectedness and insight and led to a valuable, unanticipated outcome). These elements form part of an empirically grounded process model of serendipity. In this model, a new connection is made that involves a mix of unexpectedness and insight and has the potential to lead to a valuable outcome. Projections are made on the potential value of the outcome and actions are taken to exploit the connection, leading to an (unanticipated) valuable outcome.

The model provides researchers across disciplines with a structured means of understanding and describing serendipitous experiences.

In “Coming across information serendipitously – Part 1: a process model” the authors identified common elements of researchers' experiences of “coming across information serendipitously”. These experiences involve a mix of unexpectedness and insight and lead to a valuable, unanticipated outcome. In this article, the authors aim to show how the elements of unexpectedness, insight and value form a framework for subjectively classifying whether a particular experience might be considered serendipitous and, if so, just how serendipitous.

The classification framework was constructed by analysing 46 experiences of coming across information serendipitously provided by 28 interdisciplinary researchers during critical incident interviews. “Serendipity stories” were written to summarise each experience and to facilitate their comparison. The common elements of unexpectedness, insight and value were identified in almost all the experiences.

The presence of different mixes of unexpectedness, insight and value in the interviewees' experiences define a multi‐dimensional conceptual space (which the authors call the “serendipity space”). In this space, different “strengths” of serendipity exist. The classification framework can be used to reason about whether an experience falls within the serendipity space and, if so, how “pure” or “dilute” it is.

The framework provides researchers from various disciplines with a structured means of reasoning about and classifying potentially serendipitous experiences.

Technological and social planning often has unanticipated outcomes. The planned function of information technology is primarily information and storage. The latent function might be (1) an increase in Power for those able to make best use of this technology; (2) an acceleration of historic change in which multinational corporations may supplant nation‐states. The paper also speculates on unplanned changes in (1) the direction research takes; (2) library training; (3) accessibility of source materials; (4) the formation of library élites.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the controversial repeal of legislation requiring UK companies to disclose an Operating and Financial Review (OFR). After a lengthy period of consultation and the preparation of a reporting standard, legislation was passed in March 2005 requiring UK listed companies to disclose a separate statement of management commentary, an OFR. In November 2005 the Chancellor unexpectedly and controversially announced the repeal of the OFR during a speech to the largest business lobbying group in the UK.

The analysis draws upon internal, private governmental documents prepared by the Treasury ministry to brief the Chancellor, publicly disclosed as a result of a legal challenge against the repeal decision.

The paper describes how Treasury officials were motivated to seek deregulatory opportunities in order to gain political support for their head, Prime Minister-in-waiting, Gordon Brown. The analysis reveals how the repeal of the OFR was identified as an example of corporate deregulation, and how this perception proved to be misplaced following the reaction to the repeal decision which led to the government reinstating many OFR requirements in an enhanced Business Review in 2006.

The paper draws on the conception of “3-D” power to analyse how a political ideology prevalent in the pre-financial crisis environment came to influence accounting technology with unexpected consequences. Using data rarely disclosed in the public domain, it illuminates the “black boxed” processes underlying regulatory decision making. The paper details how the Treasury were politically motivated to influence corporate reporting policy in the absence of concerted political lobbying, and why this episode of government intervention led to an unanticipated regulatory outcome.

The purpose of this paper is to look at the relation between beliefs and action in common sense judgment. The basic aim of the paper is to define and present a rational model of commonsense choice for the individual based on situation, belief, and personal resources. Second, the paper hypothesizes skills needed to make “good” commonsense choices.

This paper is a speculative essay. It draws from psychology, economics and game theory as a basis for its findings.

A schema useful for the modeling of commonsense judgment is developed. Factors that are the basis for belief formation or belief changes are analyzed within the context of the schema. Skills needed for good judgment are proposed.

The model lays a basis for conceptual and empirical study on judgments made by individuals as defined by their situation, beliefs, and resources.

The model has promise for analyzing individual and group decisions in a variety of social and organizational settings.

This paper posits a construct of common sense useful as an operant in modeling and explaining individual judgments.

The importance of various support sources to the experience of work and non‐work life balance is a well‐documented factor. This study investigate the differential impact of the support of work colleagues, workplace supervisors, non‐work friends, spouse/partner, and extended family on employees’ perceptions of the balance between their work and family life commitments. The sample of an Irish working cohort (n=170) indicated that after having a young child (6 years of age) the next significant predictor of experienced work interference with family life was spouse‐partner instrumental support. Spouse‐partner social support did not have an impact on experienced work interference in family life. The support of co‐workers and workplace supervisors did not influence experienced work‐family conflict. How and why positive spouse‐partner instrumental support should lead to elevated work‐family conflict are discussed.

The research is based on a critically analyzed literature review focused on the unanticipated outcomes, trade-offs and tensions of sustainable operations and supply chain management (OSCM), including the articles selected for this special issue.

The authors introduce the key concepts, issues and theoretical foundations of this special issue on “The hidden side of sustainable operations and supply chain management (OSCM): Unanticipated outcomes, trade-offs and tensions”. The authors explore these issues within this context, and how they may hinder the authors' transition to more sustainable practices.

The authors present an overview of unanticipated outcomes, trade-offs, tensions and influencing factors from the literature, and identify how such problems may emerge. The model addresses these problems by highlighting the crucial effect of the underlying state of knowledge on sustainable OSCM decision-making.

The authors limited the literature review to journals that ranked 2 and above as defined by the Chartered Association of Business Schools Academic Journal Guide. The main implication for research is a call to focus attention on unanticipated outcomes as a starting point rather than only an afterthought. For practitioners, good intentions such as sustainability initiatives need careful consideration for potential unanticipated outcomes.

The study provides the first critical review of unanticipated outcomes, trade-offs and tensions in the sustainable OSCM discourse. While the literature review (including papers in this special issue) significantly contributes toward describing these issues, it is still unclear how such problems emerge. The model developed in this paper addresses this gap by highlighting the crucial effect of the underlying state of knowledge concerned with sustainable OSCM decision-making.

The purpose of this research is to explore the product-agency benefits that emerge as consumers interact with products, and how these benefits shape consumer experiences and marketing-related outcomes.

Sixty-one depth interviews were conducted, and 78 written narratives were collected from informants, which explored how products had changed consumers’ lives. The authors applied the tenets of grounded theory in the analysis of their text, creating abstract categories or tropes that reflected consistent patterns in their consumers’ experiences.

The findings support that the conceptualization of agentic benefits should be broadened. The research identifies five salient product-agency benefits: regulation, clarification, transcendence, discovery and growth.

Prior conceptualizations of agency in marketing focus almost solely on control, yet the authors find that multiple product-agency benefits emerge, supporting the need for a broader understanding of product-related agency. The authors also find these benefits can be anticipated or unanticipated. It is also important to note that the benefits can be paradoxical, in that while they often yield positive outcomes, at times they can produce unintended and even negative consequences.

Incorporating consumers’ (vs researchers’) benefit perceptions into theory building and preference models will enhance understanding of consumer behavior and improve predictive power of preference and choice forecasts. The five salient product-agency benefits provide mechanisms for segmentation and building meaningful relationships with consumers, can propel product development and assist in creating more effective marketing–communication strategies.

The paper offers a broader, more nuanced conceptualization of agency beyond control. It identifies five types of product-agency benefits that reflect a wide spectrum of consumers’ lived experiences.

The aim of this study is to explore short‐term outcomes of communication aid provision from the perspective of children with complex communication needs.

A total of ten children were interviewed at two time points. The first interviews took place before or within two weeks of the arrival of a new communication aid. A second follow‐up interview was carried out between six and ten weeks later. Initial interviews explored children's views concerning their ability to engage in school activities that they deemed important but difficult to achieve. First interviews also examined children's self‐perceptions related to their self‐efficacy and self‐esteem, and perceptions of others' attitudes towards themselves. Children's views concerning the likely impact of the new communication aid on taking part in activities and their self‐concepts were also explored. The follow‐up interviews asked children to reflect on the short‐term impact of the new communication aid.

Children reported expected and unexpected positive changes at follow‐up. Notably, unanticipated and undesirable changes were also reported.

The paper addresses the critical issue of early outcomes following communication aid provision from the viewpoint of children themselves.

This paper aims to explore the experience of working with different conceptualisations of participation and participatory practice. This is done through an examination of the involvement of a technology company within a multinational, 3-years participatory research project involving 13 partners and over 200 disabled people.

This paper provides a case study, narrative account of a range of activities undertaken within the project, presenting a rare and much-needed explicit insight into the emergence of participatory ways of working and the reasoning and tensions behind them.

Through the case study gaze of one of the technology companies involved, it explicates the underpinning processes of the participatory approach and how these challenged the notions of various partners.

This paper shows how engaging in meaningfully participatory research creates profound institutional challenges for technology developers. The subsequent need to make hard decisions and compromises throughout disrupts traditional ways of working and anticipated outcomes. However, it also reveals opportunities for delivering unanticipated and transformative outcomes, highlighting the need for greater flexibility in funding research that aims to be participatory.